wildforlight

Near the end of teaching a one week private workshop/tour (The Pearls of Oregon) my client and I were completely engrossed in a heavy fog layer that I thought might break right at sunset. We raced the The Heceta Lighthouse and just as the sun set, the fog layer began to break and the most unusual golden glow radiated for about a minute as we both shot our long exposures. No "Orton" glow effect was used in post production. We used both a circular polarizer and a 9 stop ND filter. Almost all work was completed in Lightroon 4 raw.

Thanks Courtney

Thank you Sherry. I teach this work full time and find a lot of my clients are very intimidated by the possibilities and having to "get the shot." I too have felt this way (and still do sometimes) and have found that it is critical to take the pressure off yourself. The idea of "Test Shots" allows you to have fun simply exploring and experimenting. Using the "Live View" mode on most DSLR's allows you to practice abundantly framing and composition. This volume approach of scouting and test shots really helps train the brain. Then later you can look much more carefully at the potential of the shots via your laptop or LCD back at camp. Once you know what is working well. Then go out and try the "serious" stuff. I have spent about 3 and 1/2 weeks out in this location and only now am starting to feel like I am getting a grip on how to shoot the complex area. Thanks Jeff. I am not much of an HDR type.

Thank you Michael.  The bottom line is passion and getting out more!!!  I wish you success in those endeavors! 

Thanks Daniel for your thoughtful commentary here. You said: "This picture shows us that it's possible to make a very good one with just one shot and coming from an only RAW file. I find awesome the FG with the textures and color as too the sky but maybe cutting off at the high of the superior side of the left cloud. My major nit is about the shadow in left side because, probably, of the filter.  Good job on it."

The goal of the clouds in this composition was to position the camera so that the lines of the clouds went straight into the corners.  It was not possible to get them to both go in evenly. I'm assuming that is what you are talking about?  Yes, I would be happier if the left upper line went right into the corner vs very close to it. I guess I could have warped in PS. As far as the shadow.  No filters were used. There is a hill on the left and then sun is getting low. I chose not to dodge it avoiding the potential HDR look that might have caused as well as I generally prefer a darkening (subtle vignette) around images that have centrality to them to help draw the eye in.  I could certainly see an argument for a slight dodge there though and will consider that for the fine art gallery print.

I got an email the other day from someone on the forums asking me how

best to prepare to shoot in this bizarre and remote SW location.

Because of its intense complexity I suggested spending as many hours

as possible simply walking around with the camera with one or two

lenses (especially wide) no tripod and just enjoy experimenting using the

cameras "Live View" mode to EXPLORE as many possibilities as

possible. Just get creative and have fun with no tripod or pressure to "get

the shot." I suggested this because, here, that is my method of choice,

as well as what I teach. Once you find the compositions you like the

most (back at camp reviewing your LCD or laptop) you can then figure

out which ones you might want to attack for sunrise or sunset lighting...

BTW I am, so far, extremely pleased with the new basic raw

adjustments in LR 4. I am VERY impressed with the ability to get that

"pop" out of an image with a lot less masking required for dynamic range

(to control highlights). The extra and improved sliders to tame highlights

is a huge improvement, as is the base algorithm re-written (2012

rendering) and most of the raw tools improved. What this means in the

real world is that images are almost done in LR before importing to PS

with much less masking required for dynamic range. I'm still an ACR guy

but will have to wait for PS CS6 to get the same goodies there.

This is one of those "test" shots that I dismissed until the other day

when I was experimenting in LR 4.

Canon 5D Mark2

Canon 14mmL2

f/5.6

ISO 400

1/640 shutter

1 image almost finished in LR 4 raw

The specific strategy used to create this image is described in my new

BLOG for those who might be interested in improving their waterfall shots.

I first demonstrated it while carefully explaining each step, and then

I assisted my client.

This is the wonderful and absolutely astonishing Proxy Falls, Oregon.

I had this shot in my head for more than a year until finally last

month I had the very great privilege to make it a reality. I know some

may not like the top cut off but I shot it both ways and this looked

much better as I found the top too distracting. My goal was a huge

walk in feel in the foreground then leading the eye back...

Canon 5DMark2

Canon 16-35L2 (with circular Polarizer)

1 shot

TV mode to get exactly 0.5 sec shutter speed (I wanted this texture to

the water)

ISO 400 (no noise)

f/14

Most work was done in ACR. PS fine tuning/color correction was

conservative.

All comments and critiques always appreciated and welcomed.

Thank you for looking.

Hi Marc Dilley

Actually these days I am relying on the LAB color separation a little less... That is not to say I don't use it on images that have a lot of color variation and I want to push the variation further.  I'm glad the technique has helped.  Most don't know what it is or how well it works in some situations.

Thanks for the compliments.  Actually I developed this over a year ago and maybe one day I'll take another crack at it.  Doing the tours/workshops full time and teaching through Skype keeps me CRAZY busy so these days to work on my own work is a privilege!

Happy shooting!

While leading a photo workshop at Glacier National Park. Finally got

white on pink!

Deep in the Escalante Wilderness I came around a corner to see this

amazing winter scene. It was a total and pleasant surprise. About a

year later I returned to see if I could improve the shot but the rock

formation had fallen. It made the moment even more precious to me.

Thank you!

A one shot capture at a remote AZ location while leading a photo

tour/workshop. Comments are appreciated, thank you.

Hi Pierre.

Thank you for the compliment.

"the more pictures of it I see the more original and beautiful they are"

Actually, this is a very remote canyon that few have been to.

"Sacred Chamber” (remote SW slot canyon)

Technique:

I sat in this spot, in this "chamber" for an entire day to study the

lighting which changes sometimes minute by minute as well as to try to

capture the very best moment of light the day could offer. The main

reason I chose to shoot in the slot canyons on this particular day is

the fact that there was a very nasty wind/dust storm going on above

ground. The constant dust in the air created both a nice light beam

but also a nightmare for my equipment and image sensor...

This is a 15 shot DOF / focus bracket, as well as exposure bracketed +

and - 2 stops (45 total shots). The blend came out AWESOME in PS

(using the "Auto Align" and "Auto Blend" commands, found in CS4 and

CS5, which automatically mask out the softer pixels in a layer stack)

and because I used the sharpest f/stop (5.6) with a very high quality

prime lens I have been able to produce a huge fine art gallery print

with great detail and color fidelity at 49"x73.5".

The image won both image of the week and month on NaturePhotographers.net

An attempt to shoot in the surreal similar style as David Burdeny.

Oregon coast.

As good as anything you have ever captured!!!

Keep rockin on bro.

Mark Metternich

As is PERFECT! Don't simplify it!

This is about the best dynamic waterfall composition I have ever seen. It is exactly what my minds eye is visualizing (for some of my future shots) once I get back to OREGON dang it! Getting all the dynamism and lines for a bold comp.

Where is this, if you do not mind me asking?

Mark

"Dynamic"

Limited Edition of 300 (More at" TowardsTheLightPhotography.com)

Influenced quite a bit by Marc Adamus' dynamic coastal work on the

Oregon Coast, I was trying to get as much movement as possible in this

shot at Cape Kiwanda, Oregon coast. I was in the major danger zone,

but that is where I like to be! This is a favorite image of mine. The arch

is almost completely unknown.

Pacific City.

Canon 20D

"This is just beautiful; and could not be improved one jot in my estimation. I am also terribly sorry about the loss of your little friend. This photograph is a wonderful tribute to her. Hang in there, friend! Cheers! Chris

P.S. Was this taken north of Fresno on the 41; or east of Manteca off of the 108/120? The reason I ask, is that last week when I went to YNP I fell in love with a 6-7 mile stretch of the 41 that was loaded with this kind of scenery just before the USFS San Joaquin Experimental Forest. I want to go back and work that country carefully sometime soon. Chris"

Thank you very much Chris (and EVERYONE else here).

This was in Oakdale just outside Yosemite. There are a few other areas very similar. You really need a day or two of scouting and a great CD of music to spend the time to find the perfect scene. Good luck with your own work!

Mark

Just out side of Yosemite, I had seen these trees on the wonderful

rolling hills years ago and had this composition in mind ever since.

Last July I got my opportunity. I scouted a couple days to find just

the right tree facing just the right direction for both the sunset

color and the positioning of the moon. After a few days I finally

got the shot. The next morning as we were preparing to leave the

area my dog Roxy (1/2 doxy - 1/2 Chihuahua) got under my vehicle and

I accidentally ran her over. This devastated me (I'm still screwed

up) since I loved the dog more than anything in my life with the

exception of my wife. My impulse was to throw away all my images

from the shoot, but then I decided to do the opposite and process

this one impeccably as a tribute to my dog. This simple limited

edition of 300 has been a favorite of many.

Canon 1DS Mark II

Canon 24-105

f/11

3 stop Sing Ray Daryl Benson reverse grad

16:9 crop

More work can be seen at my website: TowardsTheLightPhotography.com

Thanks for commenting and great rating.

Yes, I think the diffused lighting from the clouds made no bracketing or ND necessary.

Mark

"Translucent Sentinel" (More at TowardsTheLightPhotography.com)

Bandon Beach, Oregon Coast.

A 1 or 2 minute exposure at sunrise, no blend no grad.

Canon 1DS Mark II

Mark

Hey Marc, I'm on a darker monitor right now and this is looking insanely beautiful!

Vegas Mark

"Other World" (Limited Edition of 300)

Bandon, Oregon.

If you look close enough the moon is reflected in the image too.

Basically I saw the "wild light" coming and so I laid there in the

water and sand and shot many frames while the light did its dance.

Canon 1DS Mark II

This is a bracket and blend of 2 images 3 stops apart, in CS3, almost

all adjustments done in ACR.